If you've come here because I deleted a person in your tree or because I speedy delete tagged something in your tree

It doesn't mean that I am picking you, singling you out, or scrutinizing your tree more than I would anyone else's.

I am a member of the speedy delete team. It is my job here to tag mainly those marked as 'Living' (against the site rules) or those that have no dates at all. Any person named 'Living' may be deleted on sight by any of WR's admins. The latter will be tagged, and after a couple of weeks there is no activity proving that the person tagged is in fact dead, then they too are eligible for deletion in compliance with WeRelate's Living Person policy.

Introduction

My name is Daniel James Maxwell. I have been doing genealogy for several years now, and could probably be called 'experienced amateur' or 'semi-professional'. I had known about WeRelate for several years, but finally decided to sign up when I realized it was probably the best means of publishing my own research without having to put in a paywall site (Ancestry) or one of those web tree programs. I also recall my early days of genealogy; all of the time wasted chasing fake lines that had poor/no research behind them. If it doesn't have a source, it didn't happen! After several years of this, you learn that most of what people out there have in their trees is either unprovable, legendary, or outright nonsense.

My research goals

I stopped doing major investigations of the mysteries in my tree about 2 years ago, when I decided that I want to get the known parts of my tree completely finished and sourced, each and every event, person, etc. I have come a long way, but there is still much work to be done. There are quite a few records that are not available in any online database, and may require in person visits (this is especially true for some county will books). Several other lines require me to purchase some pricey books (Palatine Families of New York, for example, a 2 volume set I need for about 3 people, but containing information available no where else).

My own ancestry

All of my ancestors were in North America by 1860, and the great bulk were here before 1776. As a result of having some LDS ancestry (note: I am a Catholic and not LDS myself), I have several lines of 19th century British LDS converts, and one non-LDS English line from the later part of the 1850s (my last line to arrive in North America).

The 19th century immigrants, starting from the earliest:

Raymond Lafon - French immigrant from Coutras, Gironde, France - by at least 1821 in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, where he was murdered in 1832. Although he was born in Coutras, his parents do not seem to originate from there, and after 1796, they leave Coutras and from then on I cannot find them.Émile Manautou- French immigrant by 1827 to Matamoros. Born in Strasbourg, but family originates from the parish of Arbus in southwest France, mother from the city of Nantes. Friend of Raymond Lafon'sFrederick Barker - English LDS convert, immigrated to New York in the early 1830s, from there moved to Utah. From Shelfanger, Norfolk, though Shelfanger parish registers are damaged in the period of his apparent baptism, and there is a gap in the Bishop's Transcripts. Ann Bligh - Frederick Barker's wife - research on her origins in Tibenham, Norfolk (done by myself) is finished. The birthplace and marriage of her mother, Sarah Pease or Pearce, has not been established, however. There is a marriage of a Daniel 'Bly', to a Sarah 'Parse' in Denver, Norfolk, which is quite far from Tibenham. It would take some additional proof to substantiate it being Ann's parents. James Staples, formerly Stapleton - English LDS convert, left England in 1850, later sent for his wife and children. Other than a baptism record for a James Stapleton baptized in Gloucester, Gloucester about 4 months after the birth of James (and matching the parentage given in James Staples's of Utah's death record), there are almost no records available in the key areas needed for research into his origins in Gloucester. Sarah Limbrick- James Staples' wife, is living in St Pancras, Middlesex in the 1851 England Census, leaves shortly thereafter. Is sometimes called 'Sarah Limerick' in certain accounts. There are some unverified claims that she 'served as a maid for Queen Victoria', but I have not seen the evidence, and this almost certainly apocryphal. In 1851, her occupation is stated to be 'Laundrys'. If she had been a maid for the Queen, their social status would probably have been much higher than it appears to have been in England.Levi Sawyer - Arrived in New Orleans, in 1846, traveling with his brother Henry and his family. From there, went to St Louis, and then Wisconsin. Is called 'Levi Joseph Sawyer' on some trees, but I have never seen the usage of a Joseph or even a middle initial in contemporary records. His mother, and most, if not all, of his siblings immigrated to the US through the Potters Emigration Society to Wisconsin, though many of them scattered quickly to other midwestern states. Certain databases of early LDS members claim that he converted in Nauvoo in 1839, but he would have been only 14 at the time and in 1841 the census of Burslem still shows him living there. There was, apparently, a Levi Sawyer who married an Elizabeth Bell in Navuoo in 1845, and while the age of Levi of the time would allow for it, I have never seen proof that it is the same man. Mary Winkle Sawyer - Immigrant from Burslem, Staffordshire, to Wisconsin by 1850, and eventually to St. Louis by 1854, where she died and was buried. Mother to Levi Sawyer above. John Lee - Immigrated by 1860 to Illinois. Parentage is established, though one parish where John's parents, Thomas Lee and Mary Hutchins lived for a time, Stoke Rivers, is not fully available, and neither is Shirwell, where they married and their children were probably baptized. Ann Woolway - John Lee's wife. Daughter of Thomas Woolway and Elizabeth Blackmore, of Roborough and Burrington, Devon. Henry Lee - their son

Major Projects

~.Sorting the first generation of the children of Thomas Estep of Frederick Co Maryland.

Unfinished Projects - things that I started but did not quite complete

~. Finishing up the first 2 generations of descendants of Family:John Converse and Joane Unknown (1).
~. Putting together what is provable with Family:John Carrington and Joanne Unknown (1), who were executed for witchcraft in the early 1650s (exact date not known). Person:Rebecca Carrington (1) and John Carrington of Waterbury are supposed to be their children, but I don't think this has ever been proved (or really even properly studied to see if it there is any truth to it). John Carrington is believed NOT to be the 'John Corrington' who sailed on the Susan & Ellen.
~. Basic outline of the first generation of the descendants of George Puffer of Braintree.

Long Term Projects

1. Designing a DNA Project Template to be used at WR, starting with my own Maxwell DNA group, perhaps having some manner of making it official looking to be used at DNA project sites.
2. Better sorting and documentation of American colonists who were executed for Witchcraft
3. Designing a 'when and where to use FindAGrave' guide. Too often I have seen links to 'memorials' on the site where there is no evidence that a person is even buried there.
4. Work with other admins and more experienced users to create a cleanup guide (<--- major undertaking, considering style differences)
5. Finish creating Governor infoboxes, which combine the colonial with post independence office holders.
6. When and where of using transcriptions - a guide is needed. One other user sometime ago mentioned to be it was better to quote the vital record directly instead of secondary sources (where possible) and I agree completely.
7. Getting my pile of Mexican records transcribed and translated so I can source my Mexican ancestry on WR better (my command of Spanish is very light and although I have many records, I can only really read dates and basic words).

Maxwell Patriarchs

I am trying to accurately identify the different Maxwell family patriarchs who immigrated to the colonies before 1776. Here are a few I have found:

1. Alexander Maxwell and his wife Elizabeth _________, who was living in Sherborn, Massachusetts by 1719.